Ladies in Space

In response to CrazyKinux's Blog Banter question: What can CCP Games do to attract and maintain a higher percentage of women to the game?

When my husband first started playing EVE online, I thought "Oh great. Yet another video game that he'll play during all of his spare time, that I won't understand or enjoy." It took almost 9 months of watching him play before I decided to get a mining character.
There are women in EVE, like myself, that like to do the "womanly" things (by reading some other posts, meaning mining, industry, etc.) There are also women in game, like myself, that enjoy doing more. I can't tell you how excited I was when I got my first kill, let alone my first kill mail. It was a huge rush! My corp mates (my husband included) still laugh when I bring up in corp, "So......when's the next PVP op??"
As for how CCP can make EVE more "woman friendly", I agree that Icarna is going to be a big part of getting more women to play. I've already told my corpmates not to expect me out of station much when it first comes out. I would really enjoy "creating" my own space, going to intergalactic bars with my hubby and a few close friends, and being able to see what my toon will look like (other than the chest up shot that shows in my character screen. I honestly look forward to that.
Other than that, CCP really shouldn't have to change anything. I enjoy playing for the sake of playing. I'm pretty sure that most women would agree. You don't have to give us a special task to do, or dumb things down (I heard some people saying that no math would make more women play...not true) to make us enjoy the game. If people would do what my husband did, and sit down and explain the game, answer questions, and be patient when the woman starts playing. Don't crash their hopes and say "oh you'll never be able to fly that" or "why would you want to do THAT" kind of thing. If a guy wants to get his girlfriend, wife, or another female in his life to play, find another female already playing and have her talk to the girlfriend/wife. It seems that seeing that another female enjoys the game, and knowing that they aren't the only one would help get the female population up (even if only a little).
Great game CCP, I look forward to Tyranis and Incarna!

Some other links I've read:
Astral Dominix--Is Eve A Man's World
Ombey--Blog Banter #17 The Ladies of New Eden
Rantuket--I Wish My Wife Played EVE
PsycheDiver--What Women Want
The Nomadic Gamer--New Eden Doesn't need to change for Eve--Adam needs to get over himself